David Eller spoke to the meeting about building an atheist culture and also about the rapture event that never happened. The American Atheists' West Coast Regional meeting Sunday May 22, 2011, one day after the alleged rapture didn't come true, was held in Oakland, Calif. less

David Eller spoke to the meeting about building an atheist culture and also about the rapture event that never happened. The American Atheists' West Coast Regional meeting Sunday May 22, 2011, one day after the ... more

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

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Tracy Williams of Vallejo had a suggestion about contraception for one of the morning speakers. The American Atheists' West Coast Regional meeting Sunday May 22, 2011, one day after the alleged rapture didn't come true, was held in Oakland, Calif. less

Tracy Williams of Vallejo had a suggestion about contraception for one of the morning speakers. The American Atheists' West Coast Regional meeting Sunday May 22, 2011, one day after the alleged rapture didn't ... more

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

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A place card at a table in the Oakland Masonic Center. The American Atheists' West Coast Regional meeting Sunday May 22, 2011, one day after the alleged rapture didn't come true, was held in Oakland, Calif.

A place card at a table in the Oakland Masonic Center. The American Atheists' West Coast Regional meeting Sunday May 22, 2011, one day after the alleged rapture didn't come true, was held in Oakland, Calif.

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

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Harold Camping of Family Radio in Oakland, Ca. on Saturday May 14, 2011, talks with callers during his nightly radio program Open Forum. Camping has been saying that the world will end May 21, 2011.

Harold Camping of Family Radio in Oakland, Ca. on Saturday May 14, 2011, talks with callers during his nightly radio program Open Forum. Camping has been saying that the world will end May 21, 2011.

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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Mark Wassberg of Richmond waits outside the home of Family Radio's founder, Harold Camping, in Alameda on Saturday. Wassberg, who used to be a member of Camping's church, believes the Rapture will take place Saturday. less

Mark Wassberg of Richmond waits outside the home of Family Radio's founder, Harold Camping, in Alameda on Saturday. Wassberg, who used to be a member of Camping's church, believes the Rapture will take place ... more

Photo: Michael Macor, The Chronicle

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Nancy Wilson, of Berkeley, Calif., listened to an early speaker. The American Atheists' West Coast Regional meeting Sunday May 22, 2011, one day after the alleged rapture didn't come true, was held in Oakland, Calif. less

Nancy Wilson, of Berkeley, Calif., listened to an early speaker. The American Atheists' West Coast Regional meeting Sunday May 22, 2011, one day after the alleged rapture didn't come true, was held in Oakland, ... more

Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

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Harold Camping 'flabbergasted'; rapture a no-show

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(05-22) 19:18 PDT ALAMEDA -- The man who said the world was going to end appeared at his front door in Alameda a day later, very much alive but not so well.

"It has been a really tough weekend," said Harold Camping, the 89-year-old fundamentalist radio preacher who convinced hundreds of his followers that the rapture would occur on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Massive earthquakes would strike, he said. Believers would ascend to heaven and the rest would be left to wander a godforsaken planet until Oct. 21, when Camping promised a fiery end to the world.

But on Sunday, almost 18 hours after he thought he'd be in heaven, there was Camping, "flabbergasted" in Alameda, wearing tan slacks, a tucked-in polo shirt and a light jacket.